Ollie Baker’s resignation as Offaly senior hurling manager was confirmed to the county board last night, after the former All-Ireland winning midfielder decided not to seek a third term at the helm of the Midland county.

Baker is currently on holiday with his family but he communicated his decision to county board chairman Padraig Boland, who last night broke the news at a county board management meeting.

Boland issued a statement that paid tribute to both the man and the manager: “Ollie Baker is a man of the highest integrity and while he was always an extremely formidable negotiator on behalf of his players, everything he did was always in an environment of openness and honesty.

“He displayed tremendous respect for the needs of clubs and was a keen proponent of county players being made available to their clubs throughout the year.

“He gave youth its chance, with numerous championship and league debuts for up and coming hurlers a feature of his tenure, while he also offered others a second chance at an inter-county career.”

Under Ollie Baker, Offaly had two moderately successful seasons in Division 1B, despite key players from Leinster Champions Coolderry (2012) and Kilcormac-Killoughey (2013) being unavailable for those campaigns.

A first championship victory over Wexford for twelve years, posted at O’Connor Park in 2012, was the highlight of Offaly’s two championship campaigns, while the performances against both Kilkenny and Waterford in 2013 were viewed by many Offaly followers as missed opportunities.

“Both championship matches this year illustrated the pride that remains at the core of Offaly hurling, both on and off the field.

“Failure to close the deal, having done so well to create the opportunity, is possibly more about lack of individual inner belief than any lack of ability or capacity. And that’s not confined to the senior hurlers in this county” according to Boland.

The chairman was keen to acknowledge the contribution of the outgoing management team and its players.

“At a time when many potential Offaly players were unavailable for selection and the engagement of personnel to support the efforts of players wasn’t always easy, I sincerely thank all those who gave such commitment to Offaly over the past two years.

“In particular I want to thank Ollie Baker and to wish him, Michelle and their young family all the very best for the future”.

Offaly county bye-laws dictate that a four man committee will be put in place to find Baker’s replacement, with Coolderry manager Ken Hogan and Kilcormac-Killoughey manager Danny Owens expected to be among the front runners for the position after their success at club level in recent seasons.